Abdominal support.



No. 697,164. Patented Apr. 8, I902.

l. E. PALMER.

vABDOMINAL SUPPORT.

(Application filed Jan. 31, 1900.)

(No Model.)

nu; non ms PETER: do. momma. wunmmou. o. c.

UNTTED STATES.

PATENT @FFICE,

ISAAC E. PALMER, OF MIDDLETO\V N, CONNECTICUT.

ABDOMINAL SUPPORT.

SPECIFICATlON forming part of Letters Patent No. 697,164, dated April 8, 1902. Application filed January 31, 1900, Serial No. Bfllfi. (No model.)

To all "Lu/"2 0121, 2 may concern:

Be it known that I, ISAAC E. PALMER, a citizen of the United States, and a resident of Middletown, in the county of Middlesex and State of Connecticut, have invented a new and useful Abdominal Support, of which the following is a specification.

My invention relates to'an abdominal support, with the object in view of providing a support which may be worn either outside or underneath the outer garments and one which is adapted to be adjusted to produce the desired tension at those points where it is important to have pressure applied in order to produce a healthy and agreeable support.

A practical embodiment of my invention is represented in the accompanying drawings, in which- Figure 1 represents the belt in side elevation as it appears in use. Fig. 2 is aview of the same in front elevation. Fig. 3 is a view of the samein back elevation, and Fig. e is a view of the belt in detail opened out into a plane.

The belt preferably comprises two half-sections (denoted by A A) having their ends which approach each other at the back slightly extended and their ends which meet at the front materially extended laterally, while the portions which pass above the hips of the wearer are narrowed, as shown. I prefer to have the back ends a a of the half-sections of thebelt permanentlyconnectedas,forexample,byalacing-stringB-sothat the beltcan be adj Listed any length by drawing in or letting out upon the lacing-strin g B. The back ends a a are further connected by a piece of soft material C--such, for example, as kid or silk forming a shield between the lacing-string B and the back of the wearer to prevent the body from becoming chafed or creased by the lacing-string. I also prefer to provide the rear ends a a with bones b b, extending 1at orally thereof, in order to hold the ends of the back distended, preventing them from atendency to wrinkle and so form an uncomfortable ridge when in use. The front ends of the sections A A are constructed to be removably fastened together in the present instance by means of buttons and buttonholes, the end a being provided with buttons and the end a being provided with buttonholes to correspond with the buttons on the end a These broad ends 0. a are each provided with a pair of light bones b If, the members of the pair b being placed one on each side of the line of buttons D and the members of the pair 11 being placed one on each side of the line of buttonholes D. The bones b b serve to keep the broad front of the belt from wrinkling,

causing it to lie smoothly over the abdomen when the belt is adjusted for use.

To further adjust the belt, giving it the desired lifting-pressure at the lower portion of the abdomen and bring the upper portion of the belt snugly to the body at the upper portion of the abdomen to prevent the belt from slipping downwardly, I provide tensionstraps, as follows: Straps E E are fastened to the body of the belt at the lower portion of the front thereof, the one a short distance from the line of buttons and the othera short distance from the line of buttonholes and lead ing thence up and back toward the part of the belt over the hip, where the buckles e e are attached to the body of the belt for the purpose of receiving the strapsE E. By drawing up on the straps E E the lower portion of the body of the belt is caused to press firmly against the lower portion of the abdomen and impart to it that healthy agreeable lift which is desirable ,particularly where the person tends to corpulency, so that the wearer finds it agreeable to bend forward and twist his body about, assuming with ease the va= rious attitudes required of the hunter or golf-player. In a similar manner straps F F are attached at the upper portion of the front, the one a short distance from the line of buttons D, and the other a short distance from the line of buttonholes D, and leading downwardly and back from the buckles f f, attached to the body of the belt near the hip line, so that the upper portion of the belt may be drawn snugly in to the body at or slightly above the upper portion of the abdomen, thereby removing any tendency of the belt to slip downwardly out of positionduring the various movements of the body.

To provide against any annoyance from the straps E E F F, I incase them in shields, (denoted by G.) The shields G may consist of any suitable flexible material fastened at their bottoms and edges to the body of the leather or canvas as an exteriorbelt, or it may be made of silk or other soft woven 'fabric to be worn in proximity to the skin.

The straps for exerting the desired tension or pressure upon different parts of the belt may be made of thin webbing or of soft thin leather, as may be found most expedient.

The belt as a whole is free from the annoying relentless grip which is common to many belts, and when properly adjusted produces a firm supporting pressure at the very points Where such pressure is needed, while leaving the body free from undue pressure beyond a predetermined limit-as, for example, around the central portion of the support.

It is obvious that the fastenings herein described may be changed for other fastenings of wel1- known or approved form and that changes might be resorted to in the structure and specific shape of the support without departing from the spirit and scope of my in- Vention. Hence I do not wish to limit myself strictly to the structure herein shown and described; but

WVhat I claim is An abdominal support comprising a band arranged to pass around the body of the wearer above the hips and to extend at the front to the lowerportion of the abdomen, the said band consisting of two half-sections substantially inelastic, means for removably closing the two sections attheir front ends, means for adjusting the two sections toward and away from one another at their rear ends, tension or pressure straps leading from the opposite sides of the front of the lower portion of the belt, upwardly and rearwardly toward the hip portions of the band, tension or pressure straps leading from the opposite sides of the front of the upper portion of the band rearwardly andmeans for taking up and letting out said straps to adjust the lower and upper portions of the belt independently of the main adjustment of the belt-sections at the back, substantially as set forth.

In testimony that I claim the foregoing as my invention Ihave signed my name, in presence of two witnesses, this 24th day of January, A. D. 19O0.-

ISAAC E. PALMER. Witnesses:

PAUL S. OoNNER, GEORGE A. WELLMAN. 

